Former Soviet Republics category: 758 books

Synthesizing several decades of scholarship by historians East and West, Barbara Evans Clements traces the major developments in the history of women in Russia and their impact on the history of the nation. Sketching lived experiences across the centuries, she demonstrates the key roles that women...

Though usually forgotten in general surveys of European colonization, the Russians were among the greatest colonizers of the Old World, eventually settling across most of the immense expanse of Northern Europe and Asia, from the Baltic and the Pacific, and from the Arctic Ocean to Central Asia. This...

From the author of Gulf-Diary of the Microchip War. This concise history, also re-edited by the author of the original 1991 paperback, whilst not intended as a biography, charts the meteoric rise of Mikhail Gorbachev through the ranks of the Communist Party but primarily covers events during...

"A clear poetic sensibility built to stand against the forces of erasure."-The Wall Street Journal"Lebedev takes his place beside Solzhenitsyn and other great writers who have refused to abide by silence."-Kirkus ReviewsFrom the critically acclaimed author of Oblivion comes Year of the...

Lonely Planet: The world’s leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet Russiais your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Brush up on your Soviet and imperial history in Moscow and St Petersburg, explore European...

A unique work of fiction from the troubled streets of Ukraine, giving invaluable testimony to the new history unfolding in the nation’s post-independence years This captivating book is Serhiy Zhadan’s ode to Kharkiv, the traditionally Russian-speaking city in Eastern Ukraine where he makes...

“Remarkable: a book about borders that makes the reader feel sumptuously free.” —Peter Pomerantsev In this extraordinary work of narrative reportage, Kapka Kassabova returns to Bulgaria, from where she emigrated as a girl twenty-five years previously, to explore the border it shares with...

Stalin’s Singing Spy follows the remarkable life of NadezhdaPlevitskaya, a Russian peasant girl who achieved fame as one of Tsar Nicholas II’s favorite singers and infamy as one of Stalin’s agents. Pamela A. Jordan traces Plevitskaya’s life from her childhood in an isolated village to national...

Georgia lies between Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East, on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea. This small Caucasian country is used to playing a significant role in global geopolitics, and its strategic location at the crossroads of different civilizations has been a curse as...

This guide unearths the treasures of Bishkek. It gives detailed cultural and historical insights on all points of interests, and includes practical easy-to-follow maps and walking tours. Most guidebooks skip over Bishkek or only give the most rudimentary of overviews. This is a shame, as Bishkek...

A Russian American writer catapults herself into the maelstrom of Russian life at a time of seismic change for both The daughter of Russian émigrés, Ingrid Bengis grew up wondering whether she was American or, deep down, "really Russian." In 1991, naïvely in love with Russia and...

Moscow is the capital of the Russian Federation and its most famous attraction, the Kremlin, is full of historic significance. Moscow was once the capital of the Soviet Union (USSR) prior to the end of the Cold War and architecture from the Russian Empire is everywhere to be seen while signs of wealth...

Latvia is a coastal European country on the Baltic Sea bordered by Estonia, Lithuania, Russia and Belarus. The capital Riga is popular with tourists and is a World Heritage Site. The slogan of Latvia is “best enjoyed slowly”, and tourists are encouraged to see more than just Riga as Latvia’s...

Originally published in 1978, Richard Gombin’s book traces the recurrent attitudes in the history of the European revolutionary movement which have criticized socialist and communist parties for their authoritarian and bureaucratic tendencies, and which have stressed spontaneity and decentralization...